News Sports Soccer Argentinian football match abandoned after twelve players are sent off following mass brawl

Argentinian football match abandoned after twelve players are sent off following mass brawl

A vicious brawl involving players, substitutes and riot police forced an Argentine lower division match to be called off midway through the second half after 12 players were red carded. Deportivo Roca's match at home to

It comes just days after a game between Serbia and Albania was called off due to a mass brawl that erupted between players when a drone carrying a politically insensitive flag flew over the players.

UEFA has charged both countries with a number of offences following the Euro 2016 qualifier, which saw a melee erupt on the pitch after a mini unmanned drone trailed a pro-Albania flag over the stadium.

The politically-charged Euro 2016 qualifier was halted after defender Stefan Mitrovic pulled down the flag - leading to fights between players and officials and havoc in the Partizan Stadium's stands.
 
Serbia have claimed the incident had been a 'scenario of a terrorist action planned in advance', but the Albania FA has hit back saying the team was targeted even before the game when stones were thrown at the bus, and its delegation and players were hit by a piece of concrete and other missiles during the warm-up.

Albanian fans had been warned against attending the game between the two Balkan rival nations that have had turbulent relations - mainly over the former ethnic Albanian-dominated Serbian province of Kosovo that declared independence in 2008.

Nato waged a 78-day air war in 1999 to halt the killing and expulsion of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo by Serbian forces fighting a two-year counter-insurgency war. Serbia does not recognise Kosovo as independent.

After a delay of around half an hour, English referee Martin Atkinson abandoned the game, with the score at 0-0.